After ranked-choice voting delivered Republican Glenn Youngkin the Virginia governorship, the GOP had no complaints—but when a progressive wins in Oakland, suddenly it’s a ‘threat to democracy.’
Ranked-Choice Voting in the Crosshairs
President Donald Trump has a new villain in his sights: ranked-choice voting. In a characteristically heated Truth Social post, Trump blasted ranked-choice voting as “one of the greatest threats to democracy” and a “fraudulent joke.” He’s jumped aboard Rep. Claudia Tenney’s crusade against voters being able to vote their first, second, and third choice of candidates.. The same Claudia Tenney who co-chairs the House Election Integrity Caucus is cheering Trump on as he backs her “The One Vote, One Choice Act” to ban ranked-choice voting nationwide.
The source of this attack on ranked-choice voting is the recent mayoral election in Oakland, CA. Democrat Barbara Lee defeated 10 other candidates in a ranked-choice election. Lee received over 50% of the first-round vote and then 53% of the ranked-choice vote.
Trump’s diatribe against ranked-choice voting aligns perfectly with Tenney’s talking points. She’s been warning that ranked-choice voting causes “chaos and confusion” and leads to “distorted outcomes.” This is politician-speak, which means elections where she or her friends lose. Now, Trump is amplifying that message nationally. Trump thundered that “ranked-choice voting is… totally… fraudulent. “ His solution? Back Tenney’s bill to keep every election as a one-choice, take-it-or-leave-it affair.
Tenney’s War on Voter Choice
Rep. Tenney has been on this warpath for a while. Fresh off her attempt to impose harsh voter ID requirements in the SAVE Act, she has now moved on to ranked-choice voting. In Tenney’s world, voters ranking a first, second, or third choice is a dire threat. “Not only does rank choice voting cause chaos and confusion, but it leads to distorted outcomes and results that do not demonstrate the will of the voters.”
That’s not true. A first, second, and third choice ballot more perfectly demonstrates the will of the voter.
Trump echoes Tenney’s hysteria with his own flair. He’s previously derided ranked-choice voting as “ranked choice crap voting” where “you never know who won… You could be in third place [and] they announce that you won… It’s a total rigged deal.
In reality, you do know who wins an ranked-choice voting election. It’s the candidate who earns a majority of the votes after all the rounds of counting. But Trump and Tenney are crying fraud and chaos because ranked-choice elections don’t always crown their preferred candidates.
Tenney’s argument boils down to this: if an election method could force her to work harder for majority support, it must be bad. It’s the “One Choice, One Vote” mentality – which really means One Party’s Choice, One Vote. More choices on the ballot result in more ways for Tenney to lose.
Ranked-Choice Voting Works
Ranked-choice voting isn’t chaos. It’s working smoothly in jurisdictions across America.
Election experts note that “ranked choice voting has been upheld by the courts and used around the country and the world. Far from some fringe experiment, ranked-choice voting is already the law in Maine and Alaska for statewide elections. It was even good enough for the Virginia Republican Party – yes, the GOP itself – which used ranked-choice voting in 2021 to nominate Glenn Youngkin who went on to be governor. Ranked-choice voting was okay when a Republican won. Its not okay when a Republican might lose.
“Usually, [ranked-choice] produces more centrist and moderate winners… the winner has to attract the votes of a wider swath of voters, rather than just appealing to their polarized base."
96% of the time, the candidate leading in first-choice votes wins with ranked-choice voting. In the remaining 4% when someone comes from behind to win, it’s because they were a consensus choice acceptable to a majority. For example, in Alaska’s first ranked-choice voting congressional race, Mary Peltola emerged with over 51% support after votes from eliminated candidates were reallocated – a true majority. That’s not a “distorted outcome.” It’s an outcome that reflects the will of the voters better than the current plurality system ever could.
Rob Richie, president of the pro-democracy group FairVote, points out that ranked-choice voting tends to elevate broadly supported candidates and weeds out extremists. “Usually, [ranked-choice] produces more centrist and moderate winners… the winner has to attract the votes of a wider swath of voters, rather than just appealing to their polarized base.”
Under New York State’s current plurality voting system, Tenney has won elections with well under 50% of the vote, thanks to third-party “spoilers.” Third-party spoilers are candidates representing minor parties who draw votes away from major candidates. For example, Ralph Nader drew enough votes away from Al Gore in 2000 to let George Bush squeak by in Florida (remember hanging chads?) and win an extremely close election. Ranked-choice voting would require Tenney to win election with an actual majority of the voters.
Preserving Minority Rule Is Tenney’s Real Agenda
Why are Trump and Tenney focused on banning a system that gives voters more choice? Their issue with ranked-choice voting is not “confusion” or “integrity.” It’s about preserving Republican minority rule. As veteran GOP strategist Stuart Stevens candidly put it, “When you can’t win over a majority of voters, you try to shrink the electorate.”
Shrinking the electorate means reducing the number of choices available to voters, enabling unpopular politicians can cling to power. Ranked-choice voting makes it harder for a disliked candidate to win with a small, rabid base. Naturally, the MAGA wing of the GOP sees it as a threat to their minority rule.
The Big Picture
Banning ranked-choice voting is part of a bigger picture. The same crowd attacking ranked ballots is also busy closing polling locations, restricting mail-in voting, and passing voter ID laws (SAVE Act) that disenfranchise eligible voters, especially married women. Now, with Trump lending his megaphone, they’re trying to scare Americans into thinking that a fairer voting system is actually an unfair voting system. It’s the Big Lie playbook all over again, this time applied to ranked-choice voting.
Consider this: ranked-choice voting can give independent and moderate candidates a real opportunity, make campaigns more civil, and force winners to earn majority support. That threatens extremists and incumbents who benefit from low-turnout primaries and split opposition. Tenney’s “The One Choice, One Vote” bill is an almost Orwellian twist on “integrity”: limit choice to preserve power.
What’s at Stake
If Trump, Tenney & Co. get their way, innovative reforms like ranked-choice voting could be banned even in states where it is already the law. We’d be left with the current system of vote-splitting “spoilers,” minority winners, and voters feeling like their voices are wasted if their top choice isn’t a front-runner. Meanwhile, career politicians like Tenney could solidify their grip on elections where they don’t even need a majority to win.
Don’t be fooled by the bluster about “chaos” or the sham calls for “integrity.” This is about rigging elections (Trump’s words) so that Republicans win.
Voters still have a chance to push back against the ‘One Choice, One Vote Act.’ Raising awareness is the first step. If majority rule and fair representation matter, now’s the time to speak up—before that choice is taken away.
Sources:
- Trump’s attack on RCV timesofindia.indiatimes.com;
- Tenney’s anti-RCV quote lawler.house.gov;
- Rob Richie on RCV use politifact.com;
- Examples of RCV in U.S. westernnypolitics.com;
- Trump on “ranked choice crap” politifact.compolitifact.com.
